Take A Sledgehammer To Your Body To Build The Physique You Want

There has been an evolution over the past few years in what we mean by the words “functional training”. Not so long ago, it referred to prehab and rehab. It was about correcting muscular imbalances, issues with posture and getting fit whilst avoiding that kind of thing. You’d see guys lunging, arms outstretched, with one foot wobbling on a Bosu ball.

But the fitness industry rarely stays still. Nowadays, functional training more likely refers to the guy doing muscle ups in the park, flipping a tire the size of a small car and then smacking it with everything he’s got with a sledgehammer. (Yes, a sledgehammer.)

It’s an old-school, masculine way of training — staple equipment includes battle ropes for crying out loud — but it’s not just for testosterone-fuelled shows. This style of training is intended to develop your relative strength, multi-plain movement (perfect for all kinds of sport) and all-over conditioning. So what are the benefits for the average athlete or gym-goer? Well, there are many…

It’s metabolically demanding

Flip a tire, run around it, hop into the middle, then do a press-up off the side of it. Now repeat that, say, 20 times. You’ll have just used most of the major muscle groups in your body. And not only that, you’ll have used your lungs, too. They'll be screaming for air. If you do it once or twice a week, you’ll not only become stronger, but fitter too.

You’re on a whole new plain

When you lift at the gym, it’s either up and down or back and forth. When you swing a sledgehammer or start throwing some battle ropes around, you engage in multi-plain movements. It means you’re not using the same muscles repeatedly, which can lead to overuse injuries. In fact it helps you avoid a lay-off because you’re strengthening the areas that tend to get injured in the first place.

This is about relative strength, not absolute strength

The difference is that the former is about how strong you are relative to your size or body weight. It’s about how you control your body in space — how far you can jump, whether you can do show-off gymnastic moves on a pull-up bar. What it won’t do is increase your bench press, say. That’s absolute strength — the maximum force your body can exert, and there are better ways to increase that if it’s your goal.

You can start small

You’ll have seen the YouTube clips of guys seeming to defy gravity doing callisthenics workouts on the bars at a park. You may have even seen these superhumans at your local park and been scared off. But you don’t have to be a gymnast to get started with this style of training. Hell, you don’t even need to be any good at pull-ups. Start with assisted pull-ups using resistance bands, or try negative training where you start at the top of a pull-up and then lower yourself under control for 10 reps. Do that twice or three times a week and you’ll be surprised at how quickly you progress. You’ll be doing muscle-up combos in no time. Cape optional.

There is not a training mechanism in the world that wouldn’t be improved by mixing things up. Functional training is an excellent way to cross-train because it targets muscles, movements and abilities that most gym routines ignore. And for the same reason, it helps you bust through plateaus and improves performance in almost any sport. I'll see you at the bar.